DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NEW SLOGAN: ‘CONG KI LOOT, ZINDAGI KE SAATH BHI, ZINDAGI KE BAAD BHI’ SeizingonPitroda’staxremarks,Modi saysCongthreatensfamilyinheritance Under fire, Rahul digs heels in, says ‘X-ray’, survey will find way forward MANOJ C G PAGE 16 Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. PTI 2020 CONG CRISIS Congress distances itself from Pitroda remarks: No link to policy, manifesto Gehlot behind phone tap of Pilot & rebels, claims ex-aide of former CM Ashok Gehlot’s former OSD Lokesh Sharma in Jaipur, Wednesday. Rohit Jain Paras HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, APRIL 24 IN WHAT could spell trouble for former Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, his former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Lokesh SharmaallegedWednesdaythat duringthe2020partycrisisinthe state, the phones of party rebels, including Sachin Pilot, and their movements were tracked at Gehlot's behest. He also alleged thatitwasGehlotwhopassedon recordings of phone calls and asked him to “circulate them in the media”. Until late Wednesday night, there was no response from Gehlot to Sharma's allegations. Responding to Sharma’s accusations, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, “He is not a member of the organisation and he is in touch withBJPleaders.Hence,he’sacting on their instructions.” Incidentally, Sharma is also an accused in an FIR, lodged in connection with these audio clips, in Delhi in March 2021 on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD BLINKEN BEGINS CHINA VISIT AMID TENSION OVER NEW U.S. FOREIGN AID BILL AFTER RAISI’S PAK VISIT, U.S. WARNS OF SANCTIONS OVER BUSINESS WITH IRAN PAGE 15 JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU, VIKAS PATHAK & ANAND MOHAN RAIPUR, NEW DELHI, BHOPAL, APRIL 24 AS CAMPAIGNING for Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections drew to a close Wednesday in 89 constituencies of 13 states and UTs that will vote Friday, the gloves were off in the BJP-Congress standoff, with economics taking centrestage. Widening his attack on the Congress, days after accusing it of working to give Muslims the first right to the nation’s resources and wealth redistribution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that the party now had its eyes on the wealth of all Indians. Referring to Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda’s remark that the inher- TRIGGERING A political storm in thesecondphaseof theelections withhisremarkslinkinganationwide caste census to an institutional survey, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reaffirmed Wednesdaythathisparty,ifvoted topower,wouldtakeupthe“revolutionary” task of a “national X-ray”—hisdescriptionofacaste census—alongwithaneconomic andinstitutionalsurveytodetermine “in which direction the country should move forward.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED UNDERSTANDING INHERITANCETAX PAGE 14 itance tax in the US was an idea that could be debated and discussed in India too, Modi, addressing a rally in Surguja in Chhattisgarh, targeted the Gandhi family and the Congress. “Theadvisortotheroyalfamily prince, and advisor to the father of the prince, has said more taxes should be imposed on the middle class. Now these people have gone a step further. The Congressnowsaysitwillimpose an inheritance tax. That it will impose tax on the inheritance receivedfromparents.Theproperty you have accumulated CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Poll panel likely to argue this is mere listing of work done, no enmity stoked EXPRESS NETWORK NEW DELHI, APRIL 24 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the Samajik Nyay Sammelan in New Delhi on Wednesday. Anil Sharma Census to kranti: How Rahul framed quotas as wealth re-distribution tool POLITICS THE EDITORIAL PAGE MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, APRIL 24 ALMOST a year ago, on April 16, 2023, Rahul Gandhi first spoke aboutjitniabadi,utnahaqorproportional representation in Kolar, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections. Even after a win in the state, the Congress Working Committee, which met in October last year, refrained from spelling out this line. It passed a resolution merely saying a “nationwide caste census will reveal an accurate picture of RETROGRADE Congress’s ideas on survey and inheritance are bad economics and bad politics PAGE8 E EXPLAINED RBI PUTS CURBS ON KOTAK: NO ONLINE ONBOARDING OF CUSTOMERS, NEW CREDIT CARDS PM mention of Ram temple, appeal to Sikhs, no violation of MCC, EC set to say RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, APRIL 24 ECONOMY COMPLAINT REGARDING APRIL 9 RALLY the socio-economic position of communities across the country and provide a sound, data● driven basis for policies to strengthen the foundations of social justice and ensure inclusive development.” This carefully worded state- ment is now effectively out of the window as Rahul has steadily ratcheted up the rhetoric, framing the caste census not just as a means but as an end — conflating the three critical issuesof inequality, concentration of wealth,andcastecensus,leaving gaping holes for interpretation,tothedismay of a sectionof his colleagues. Over the course of the year, he has talked about an “X-ray”, a financialsurveywhichwillmake everything clear — doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani — about who owns what and earns how much, and krantikari policies to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi'sreferencetotheconstruction of the Ram Temple in an election rally is not an appeal to vote in the name of religion. Mentioning the development of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, a route for Sikh pilgrimage, along with the government's action of bringing back copies of the Guru Granth Sahib — the Sikh holy book — from Afghanistan in a constituencywithasizeableSikh population, does not violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). This is the decision that the Election Commission (EC) is likely to communicate in its first disposal of a complaint against the Prime Minister alleging Model Code violations, The Indian Express has learned. The decision is based on a complaintfiledbySupremeCourt lawyer Anand S Jondale, who allegedthatModiviolatedtheMCC by seeking votes for "his party in PETITIONS ON VVPAT SLIPS: SC SAYS CAN’T CONTROL ELECTIONS PAGE 3 the name of Hindu deities and Hindu places of worship as well as Sikh deities and Sikh places of worship" during his address at a public rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit on April 9. The all-clear from EC is expected to come even as the Commission is seized of a Congress complaint against the Prime Minister for his remarks atarallyinRajasthan'sBanswara onApril21,wherehementioned Muslims and said that the Congress, if voted to power, could distribute the nation’s wealth among "infiltrators" and "thosewhohavemorechildren". The poll panel has not given a decision in this matter yet. Sources said the EC is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2024 ● ‘Vote Vimanam’ brings expatriates back to Kerala ahead of polls ● EC extends voting hours in four Bihar seats ●SamajwadiPartychanges mind,Akhileshtocontest fromKannauj GROUNDREPORT CAA buzz missing in Silchar, but BJP races ahead on work, hopes PAGES 4, 10, 12, 13 AN EXPRESS SERIES - PART 2 : GUJARAT BJP dominance squeezes Opp, Days before elections, on Gujarat street, refrain once Maharashtra Govt again is for ‘jaisa chal raha hai’ gave guarantee for loans to 21 sugar mills It is the women who bear the brunt of fetching water in parched Bundelkhand. Anand Mohan J 15 managed by ruling leaders, 9 of whom had switched over in last 2 yrs MUMBAI TO MURSHIDABAD Water a trickle, now diamonds are rust in dry Bundelkhand PARTHA SARATHI BISWAS PUNE, APRIL 24 VANDITA MISHRA, LEENA MISRA & KAMAAL SAIYED VYARA, SURAT, BHARUCH, VADODARA, APRIL 24 I will do something else,” Kumar ANAND MOHAN J says, worried it might involve PANNA, TIKAMGARH, APRIL 24 moving out as “there are no jobs in Panna”. DIAMONDS MAY be forever, but Panna is one of the six not in Madhya Pradesh's Panna MadhyaPradeshdistricts—apart district, whose famed from Datia, Tikamgarh, mines are running dry. Chhatarpur, Damoh and Standing atop a Sagar — all falling in the mound of excavated semi-arid, backward reearth in Sarkoha village, gion of Bundelkhand, supervising four workers whichvoteinthesecond chipping away to reach DECISION phase on April 26. 2024 the kimberlite, which Agriculture may be the may or may not contain backbone of Madhya diamond deposits, mine opera- Pradesh'seconomy,buthereitis tor Vijendra Kumar, 39, says he a constant battle against unceris done. "We are not getting the tainty,withirrigationsystemsinsame volume of diamonds and adequate, fuelling migration. it is costly to run this operation... CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 COME TO Prime Minister NarendraModi’sstate,whichthe BJP swept in the last two Lok Sabha elections, winning 26 out of 26 seats, and in which a BJP government has ruled uninterrupted since 1998, to get a glimpse of what total dominance looks like, even and especially when it is fraying at the edges.Winningall26seatsagain is not the BJP’s stated goal this time—theparty isstrikingabigger and bolder posture in its Gujarat showcase. It says it will win every seat here — the state goes to polls in Phase 3 on May 7 — by a margin of 5 lakh votes. CometoSuratinthiselection, wheretheBJPcandidateMukesh Dalal has just got elected unop- Congress Bardoli candidate Siddharth Chaudhary with father Amarsinh Chaudhary, a former MP, MLA, in Vyara. Kamaal Saiyed posed—afterthenominationpapers of the Congress candidate werecancelledbecauseofalleged discrepanciesinproposers’signatures,andamidallegationsofkidnapping, the rest of the candidates stood down subsequently — to see the “Opposition-mukt" polityoftheBJP’snationaldream. Surat part of a larger story Surat may not be an incidental setting for the contest that turned into a no-contest. It is the bastion of BJP president C R Paatil, a third-term MP from the adjoining constituency of Navsari, known not to conduct a campaign as it is defined conventionally. Paatil makes a point of not asking voters for their vote, takes pride in not addressing election sabhasormeetings.Nohoardings or posters are put up in his name — because, it is said, he presides overawell-honedsystemofelection “micro-management”, in which the public outreach is micro-data-driven, below the surface, silent and systematic. The story goes that in 1992, CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 DAYS BEFORE THE model code of conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha elections kicked in on March 16, the Maharashtra government had in the first week of March agreed to be the guarantorfor21cooperativesugarmills and recommended their names for loans from the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). Of the 21 mills, 15 are managed by leaders from the ruling alliance or those who recently jumped ship. Two are managed by leaders who had sided with Eknath Shinde when the latter split the Shiv Sena in 2022, five with Ajit Pawar when he parted ways with Sharad Pawar, and one by a Congress leader who switched to the BJP ahead of elections. Yet another mill in Solapurismanagedbythesonof late Bharat Bhalke, who was an MLA representing NCP (undi- WHO GOT STATE GUARANTEE Of the 21 mills, 15 managed by ruling alliance leaders or those who recently jumped ship: ■ 2 with Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) ■2 with NCP (Ajit Pawar) ■ 1 with Cong leader who switched to BJP before elections ■ 1 with the son of NCP (undivided) MLA who joined BRS ■ Remaining 9 mills support BJP vided). He had joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) after his defeat in the bypoll. Of the six mills not managed by leaders of the ruling alliance, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Independent, or far from one? Minister faces surprise challenger in Barmer PAGE 1 ANCHOR HAMZA KHAN BARMER, APRIL 24 FROM PRIME Minister Narendra Modi to multiple visits by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and state ministers, from former WWEwrestlerKhalitoactorand itsLokSabhacandidateKangana Ranaut, and even a “non-political” programme by religious guru Dhirendra Shastri, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to ensure the re-election of Union minister Kailash Choudhary from Barmer. On the ground, the contest seems tough, with Choudhary facing not just the Congress's UmmedaRamBeniwal,whohas run a brisk campaign backed by the party, but also a growing challengefrom26-year-oldSheo MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati or “Ravsa”, as his supporters call him, who is a former BJP leader contesting as an Independent. There is another undercurrent to the contest. The last time VOTE SHARE (%) IN BARMER ■ BJP ■ Cong Col. Sona Ram ■ Others Harish Chaudhary 40.09% 18.12% 2014 a Rajput won the Barmer Lok Sabha seat was 2004, when the BJP’sManvendraSingh,sonof its late founding member Jaswant Kailash Chaudhary 59.52% Manvendera Singh 36.75% 2019 Singh, was victorious. Some in the Rajput community, who have been watching the eclipsingof VasundharaRajeintheBJP, Independent candidate Ravindra Singh Bhati, 26, campaigns in Barmer constituency. Facebook feel Bhati has what it takes to be the next big face in Rajasthan politics. Both Choudhary and Beniwal are Jats. While Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is contesting from Jodhpur, is seen as the party's tallest Rajput leader in Marwar, according to many members of the community, Bhati enjoys one advantage over him: “widespread acceptability beyond caste lines”. Earlierthismonth,Bhatiheld a road show in faraway Bangalore — Lok Sabha seats falling under it also vote on April 26—thatdrewhundreds.Hehas also held rallies in Mumbai, Pune,Hyderabad,Surat.Hissupporters say it is the help he provided to non-resident Rajasthanis during Covid and later which explains the spread of his reach. Now, in the last leg of his campaign, Bhati has had a helicopter at his disposal. The Independent, who declared assets of Rs 27 lakh (along with wife's), attributes it to the generosity of his supporters. Others CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad
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